SCRANTON, Pa. — It's easy to see the damage to the main floor of the Catholic Social Services building on Wyoming Avenue in Scranton. The ceiling is gone, and debris is scattered all over the floor.
During the freezing temperatures the night before, a pipe connected to the building's sprinkler system froze and burst, flooding parts of the residential area as well as the floor below.
"The problem with water is you can tell, I mean, the electricity, that's a no-brainer. It's going to damage that. But it could also, in a building this old, it could cause structural issues. So we're looking at all of that," said Joe Mahoney, Catholic Social Services CEO.
Fifteen residents who live at the Saint James Manor transitional housing facility were displaced, and St. Anthony's Haven emergency shelter was forced to close.
"We've got assessments, we've got electricians, we've got plumbers, we've got HVAC all in there, trying to get it fixed up and ready and safe for our clients," said Mahoney.
Until repairs can be made to the building, Catholic Social Services made sure that the folks who live here have someplace warm to stay.
"We did tell folks we got him covered at the hotel as long as we need them to be there. But fingers crossed. I'm cautiously optimistic that this building will come through, and we'll be able to start moving folks back in," said Mahoney.
Catholic Social Services CEO Joe Mahoney also said that on cold nights, the shelter hosts anywhere from 18 to 24 people, and this time it couldn't.
"Fortunately and unfortunately, there was a code blue situation going on, so there was another shelter open for them to go to," Mahoney said.
St. Anthony's Haven shelter will remain closed until repairs are complete.
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